Blogavore

Sweet Baby Corn

Mon, 7 Jul 2008 16:15:24 -0400

The summer goodness just keeps coming, Our first sweet summer corn is in!! It’s fabulous and juicy and so good that I ate an entire ear raw standing right in the field.

So, babies, fire up the grill and throw those ears on when the fire gets nice and hot -- don’t even bother taking off the shucks. Have the butter and salt ready when they come off the grill and you are ready to roll! Yum!

My favorite day. . .

Wed, 2 Jul 2008 16:00:58 -0400

I live in superlatives. I have at least a hundred favorite songs and probably 30 favorite movies so, sometimes when I say that something is “my very favorite,” people take it with a grain of salt. But, this time, I really mean it.

I am a child of summer -- I love the warm weather and long days. I adore the bounty that the summer garden provides. And, I especially love sweet summer peas. As far back as I can remember, the first peas of summer were reason to celebrate. Every member of my family loves peas -- six week peas, crowder peas, pink-eye-purple-hulls, rice peas. . . the list goes on.

So, today is my favorite day this year. The Coon Rock family has produced it’s first batch of peas for the summer. Ours are pink-eye-purple-hulls and they are beautiful. I am going to sit down this afternoon and shell my bucket and we’re going to have the sweetest dinner of the year so far. I may not even serve anything with the peas -- just might let them shine on their own.

If you wonder how I cook them:

For a quart of peas, place peas in pot, cover with water and add a tablespoon of oil (I use olive oil), salt and pepper to taste, and 1/4 cup of beef broth. Cover and bring to a boil. After boiling, turn heat down to medium and cook until peas reach desired tenderness.

Beets are Better!

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:43:21 -0400

I often don’t stop to think about how delicious beets are. We grow them pretty much year-round so they are a staple of our diet. And being self-centered, I assumed that most people (at least the ones that like good food) eat beets as regularly as we do. This weekend, we had friends over and I made roasted beets for dinner. Maybe for the second time in a week. It was the first time they had ever eaten beets! Over 30 years and no beets! And according to my two very learned and well travelled friends, there are many others just like them walking the streets everyday! This is just terrible so I am taking in upon myself to start a re-education campaign! Beets are Better! Say it loud! Say it Proud! Roasted, pickled. . . boiled -- any way and you’ll feel spoiled!

Seriously, beets are delicious, good for you and so easy to prepare. At Coon Rock, we grow 4 varieties -- golden, chiogga, red ace and bull’s blood (pictured above). We eat them roasted at least once a week. Simple recipe:

Take a bunch of beets (I usually count 2 beets per person I’m feeding), cut the tops off to save for later, and scrub really well. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place beets in a roasting dish. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at 350 for 45 minutes to one hour. Remove from oven when beets are fork tender and serve warm.

As an additional side, take beet greens and saute with olive oil and salt for a delicious healthy side of greens!

You say to-may-to, I say to-ma-to. . .

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:56:04 -0400

I won my bet! Farmer Richard owes me $1!! We have six beautiful tomatoes -- all picked before July 1! I ate one raw right in the garden -- still warm from the sun. Life doesn’t get much better.

Tonight we’ll have one of my favorite summer treats -- Caprese Salad. A simple salad of tomato, basil and fresh mozzarella.

Easy recipe! Slice tomatoes and combine with fresh basil and fresh mozzarella and dress with olive oil, salt and pepper. We use Greek olive oil and mozzarella from Chapel Hill Creamery (that we can buy closer to home now with the opening of the Hillsborough Weaver Street Market!!). Simple and delicious!

Pesto! Pesto!

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 13:34:31 -0400

It’s that time of year. Pesto of all kinds. We have beautiful basil in the garden -- traditional sweet basil, lime basil, and even thai basil. We’ve also used the scapes (flower shoots on garlic pods) to make a delicious spicy pesto. My basic pesto recipe is below (I generally make at least a double batch because it freezes so well.). Feel free to substitute other herbs or garlic scapes for the basil or other nuts for the pine nuts. Serve over meats, pastas, potatoes or as a simple dipping sauce for fresh bread. Variety is the spice of life!

Basic Pesto:

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 4 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
• Salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste

Combine the basil and pine nuts and pulse a minute or so in a food processor. Add the garlic and pulse a little more.

Slowly add olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Add grated cheese and pulse until blended. Add salt and pepper to taste.